Methods and Systems for Crop Land Evaluation and Crop Growth Management

1. A method for evaluating uncultivated land for crop land production using crop modeling the method comprising: (a) receiving weather data for an uncultivated land plot that has not been cultivated with grown and harvested crop plants within the last 5 years, the weather data comprising at least one of historical weather data and projected weather data for the plot; (b) receiving soil data for the land plot; (c) receiving two or more crop management parameters for the land plot, the crop management parameters comprising a crop plant for the land plot and at least one other different crop management parameter for the land plot; (d) determining (i) a predicted yield and (ii) a predicted environmental final field state property for the crop plant on the land plot using a crop model, the weather data, the soil data, and the crop management parameters for the land plot, wherein the predicted yield and the predicted environmental final field state property for the crop plant comprise distributions based on the different crop management parameters for the land plot, wherein the environmental final field state property is selected from the group consisting of nutrient leaching, greenhouse gas emission, soil organic content loss, soil erosion, and combinations thereof; (e) preparing the land plot for cultivation with the crop plant according to the predicted yield and the predicted environmental final field state property after a risk determination that the land plot would be agriculturally productive while limiting the environmental final field state property if the crop plant were planted, grown, and harvested according to crop management parameters selected from the distributions, wherein preparing the land plot for cultivation with the crop plant comprises at least one of removing existing vegetation from the land plot and reshaping the land plot surface; and (f) planting, growing, and harvesting the crop plant on the land plot according to the two or more crop management parameters, wherein the crop management parameters for planting, growing, and harvesting the crop plant are selected to optimize one or more of crop plant yield, crop plant quality, and crop plant marginal net return, and (ii) limit one or more of nutrient leaching, greenhouse gas emission, soil organic content loss, and soil erosion.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising buying or selling the land plot after determining the predicted yield and the predicted environmental final field state property, before planting the crop plant, and according to the predicted yield and the predicted environmental final field state property.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein: the weather data comprise a weather distribution for the land plot based on one or more of historical weather data for the land plot and forecast data for the land plot; the predicted yield for the crop plant comprises a yield distribution based on the weather data for the crop plant on the land plot; and the predicted environmental final field state property comprises a final field state property distribution based on the weather data for the crop plant on the land plot.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein: the soil data comprise a soil distribution for the land plot; the predicted yield for the crop plant comprises a yield distribution based on the soil data for the land plot; and the predicted environmental final field state property comprises a final field state property distribution based on the soil data for the crop plant on the land plot.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the weather data comprise one or more of incident solar radiation, maximum and minimum temperature, and rainfall.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the soil data comprise one or more of soil type, soil depth, soil chemical constituents, and soil thermal characteristics.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the crop management parameters further comprise one or more of crop plant species, crop plant cultivar, tilling plan, pest management schedule, pest management chemicals, irrigation amount, irrigation schedule, fertilization amount, fertilization type, fertilization schedule, planting time, and harvest time.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein planting, growing, and harvesting the crop plant comprises: (i) initially planting and/or growing the crop plant according to the one or more crop management parameters as part of an initial crop management plan for the crop plant and the land plot; (ii) updating the initial crop management plan during a growing season according to actual weather data for the field during the growing season, thereby generating a updated crop management plan; and (iii) growing and/or harvesting the crop plant according to the updated management plan.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein part (ii) further comprises updating the initial crop management plan during a growing season according to actual nitrogen data for the field during the growing season.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the crop plant is selected from the group consisting of corn, wheat, soybean, cultivars thereof, and combinations thereof.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the crop management parameters are spatially variable for the land plot.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the uncultivated land plot has not been cultivated with grown and harvested crop plants within the last 30 years.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein preparing the land plot for cultivation with the crop plant comprises removing existing vegetation from the land plot.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein: the uncultivated land plot comprises obstructing vegetation thereon, the obstructing vegetation making the uncultivated land plot or a portion thereof unsuitable for cultivation; and removing the existing vegetation in part (e) comprises removing the obstructing vegetation.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein preparing the land plot for cultivation with the crop plant comprises reshaping the land plot surface.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein: the uncultivated land plot has a land topography making the uncultivated land plot or a portion thereof unsuitable for cultivation; and reshaping the land plot surface in part (e) comprises at least one of removing soil or land, adding soil favorable for plant growth, and reshaping the land plot surface to promote favorable water transport.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein part (d) comprises determining a predicted yield for the crop plant without using historical yield data for the land plot.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein: determining the predicted yield and the predicted environmental final field state property for the crop plant on the land plot using the crop model, the weather data, the soil data, and the crop management parameters for the land plot in part (d) comprises: (i) simulating a water balance, a carbon balance, a heat balance, and a nutrient balance to (ii) determine crop growth, crop biomass, crop yield, and the environmental final field state property as crop model outputs using (iii) the weather data, the soil data, and the crop management parameters for the land plot as crop model inputs; the weather data comprise a weather distribution for the land plot based on one or more of historical weather data for the land plot and forecast data for the land plot; the predicted yield for the crop plant comprises a yield distribution based on the weather data for the crop plant on the land plot; and the predicted environmental final field state property comprises a final field state property distribution based on the weather data for the crop plant on the land plot.

19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: leaving the land plot in an uncultivated state when the risk determination indicates that the land plot would not be agriculturally productive while limiting the environmental final field state property if the crop plant were planted, grown, and harvested according to crop management parameters selected from the distributions.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the risk determination that the land plot would be agriculturally productive while limiting the environmental final field state property if the crop plant were planted, grown, and harvested according to crop management parameters selected from the distributions comprises: determining that the crop plant yield would be maximized, meet or exceed a minimum threshold, or be increased relative to a baseline yield value if the crop plant were planted, grown, and harvested according to crop management parameters selected from the distributions; and determining that the environmental final field state property would be minimized, be at or below a maximum threshold, or be reduced relative to a baseline property value if the crop plant were planted, grown, and harvested according to crop management parameters selected from the distributions.